Where To Go
by MF13
Summary: Max and the gang are back together after their split up. everything is going great. but after they go to Canada to relax,does something feel weird and unsafe to Max? is the flock still in danger? and is Fang too weak to protect them if something happens?
1. Chapter 1

**It took me forever to come up with this story, don't be surprised, I'm not a quick thinker, but I finally got it! My first Maximum Ride story! **

**Max's point of view**

(After Saving the World and other Extreme Sports and before The Final Warning)

The flock was back together, happily back together, after our split up. We were flying toward Canada. Maybe for once we could relax.

"Tell me, why are we going to Canada?" Iggy asks, flying in next to me and Fang.

"We want to relax…or try. Let's just hope those god-forsaken Erasers don't show up." Fang answers.

I look at him and smile. After the flock was literally cut in half, we've been spending most of our time together, making up for the lost time when the guys left.

Dr. Martinez and Ella….we had just left them and Jeb back in Arizona. If we ever returned, it would be hell for all of us. But I really missed Ella, my sister. I've always felt close to Nudge as a sister, not Angel as much because she was more of my kid than a sister, but Ella always wanted me as her sister, and she got her wish. And we were both happy about it.

But I was glad the flock was back. And hopefully in the future we won't make any rash decisions like we did before. Ari was gone now anyway…sadly, and Fang had nothing to worry about. But it didn't matter, we promised to never leave each other again.

I smile at the thought and Fang sees it. He doesn't smile back, of course having one of his mood swings. Fang has multiple personalities and it drives me crazy sometimes. Sometimes he'll be happy and _actually smile_, other times he'll be quiet and won't talk as much, kinda keep to himself. But who am I to judge? I have my moments.

"Max," Angel says, taking Iggy's spot as he flies away. "How do we know there isn't "a school" in Canada?"

"I guess we'll find out." I respond. But what if she was right? Maybe there is one there and we haven't heard of it. Like the Itex situation, it was _everywhere_, at gas stations, on clothing. And we never noticed it.

I look at Fang, flying right next to me, as Angel goes toward Nudge. "Angel _has _been right on several occasions." I say.

"But not always." Fang says, looking me straight in the eye, and I can tell from the expression on his face he's feeling the same fear I am. "We've gotten away from every Eraser so far, every time they tried to capture us, or even succeeded, we always conquered them."

"And some have gotten very, _very_ hurt in the process." I say, remembering the time on the beach, both times. Fang has gotten hurt so much, and I've lost him a lot, too. Even though he's always come back, it's been pretty close.

"But it turned out alright." Fang says. _Yeah, don't bother explaining. Mr. man of few words_, I think to myself.

_Focus, Max. Focus on what's ahead of you, not what's behind._ And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen, the mutant bird kid, and to top it all off on The Crazy List, she also has a voice inside her head.

Yes, it's true; I have a voice inside my head. Not my voice, not Fang's voice. In fact, I don't _know_ whose voice it is, but it's still there just the same.

_The fact that I'm here is something of the past, deal with it, Max. You've got bigger things on your plate,_ the voice says.

_Oh really? Because I'm _pretty sure_ having a voice in my head is something to worry about,_ I say back.

_What's bigger, saving the world or a voice in your head?_ The voice asks.

I don't answer, not because I don't have an answer, I know saving the world is bigger. I just didn't want to deal with his "question and no answer" attitude.

So I pay attention to other things, like noticing we're close to the border.

"Almost there, guys." I say to the flock.

"Woo!" Gazzy yells, putting both fists forward.

I smile. _Crazy kid,_ I think to myself.

"So…what do we do once we get there?" Fang asks.

I look at him, "Other than relax and enjoy it?" I ask.

Fang nods.

I look away, "We try to figure this out, try to figure out what's going on, if anything."

"Ok. What if Erasers show up?" Fang asks, trying to make me look at him.

But I refuse. "Make a run for it…again. I don't want anyone to get hurt again." And I finally look at him.

Fang has a "really? You think I'm _that_ weak?" look on his face.

"What? It's happened too many times. I _can't_ lose you." I say.

"You won't. I can fight just the same as I could before." Fang says.

"Well…" I say, a little quieter. Do I think Fang can't fight? No, I know he can. Do I want to risk it? No, if he gets hurt again, my life will be an instant horror.

"Max." Fang says.

"I just wouldn't want to risk it." I say.

"It won't be a problem." Fang says.

I don't answer. He knows what I would say. That's what we all thought, we all thought Fang was tough, but he got hurt too many times. I'm not saying he can't fight, or that he's become weak, I'm just saying some Erasers are stronger.

Earlier, we decided to go to some place on the coast, some place where we can follow the ocean to America if we needed to, and not get lost in the process. So as we mere left to go to the ocean, I watch people below. Canada was a lot different than America, there were different landscapes and such, it just didn't feel familiar.

And I didn't like it.

I look at Fang, and he's focusing down below as well. "Fang." I say.

"Hmm?" he asks, looking up to me.

"This feels different. It doesn't feel the same." I say.

"Maybe because we just left our home country. What, does the air feel different? It's fine, Max, trust me." Fang says.

And I did trust him, more than anyone. "No, I mean, it feels unfamiliar."

"I know what you mean, I feel it, too. Trust me, Max, if anything happens to you or anyone, it'll be ok." Fang says.

He's saying he'll protect us.

_Max, _the voice says_. Trust your gut. And I know your gut is telling you to stay in Canada._

Alright, fine. We're staying here, in Canada.

For now.

**My first story that wasn't a cliff hanger. Wow! Hope you liked it. Please review, thanks.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Second chapter in Where to Go**

**Max's point of view**

We were still in Canada, and I still didn't feel safe. Even with Fang here.

"Seriously, Max, what do we do if Erasers show up? We can't run this time." Iggy asks.

Unfortunately Fang had told _everyone_ my plan of flying along the border if an invasion comes up, and they took it as a big slap in the face. To them, they thought it meant that I thought they couldn't fight. So now, I'm mad at Fang and everyone else is mad at me.

"What else can we do?" I ask him. We had landed on the edge of a cliff and were resting up for the finally stretch of our trip. Nudge, Angel, and Gazzy were a few feet away from us, Gazzy making imitations that made Angel and Nudge laugh. Fang, Iggy, and I were on the other end of our ledge.

"Oh, I don't know, fight? I know we've had some rough times with some of us in the past, but that doesn't mean we can't still fight." Iggy says.

"Exactly." Fang says.

I glare at Fang. _What was he doing?_ I think to myself. _He usually backs me up, not all the time, but mostly on stuff like this._

He looks at me and has no expression on his face. Did that mean he didn't know what to think? I didn't know.

"If we fight, and lose one of us, no one will be able to forgive themselves. We're not fighting; we're going to run for as long as we can. I've always done what the rest of the flock wants, now I'm doing what the rest of the flock needs. End of discussion." I say. I walk toward the back of the ledge where no one can bother me and sit down.

Iggy walks toward Gazzy and the rest, but Fang starts walking slowly toward me. I rest my chin on my knees and rap my arms around my legs.

As Fang approaches, he takes a seat next to me.

"I've never seen you do that." He says.

"Do what?" I ask.

"Stand up for what you think is right. I knew you always could, but standing up against the flock, against Iggy, is just crazy." Fang says.

"You don't agree with me." I confirm.

"I never said that." Fang insists.

I look at him as a response. His dark eyes meet mine and a small smile plays on his lips, and I can tell he doesn't disagree with me.

I look away, getting his message, and looking off toward the open sky.

"Max, I'll always be there for your decisions. I know you're smart, so whatever you decide is what I'll go with; because I know whatever you think… is always the right way to go." Fang says.

He's never said something like that to me.

And I was touched. "You…you really think that I make the right decisions?" I ask, looking at him.

Fang looks at me and grins. "Well…most of the time. Even when you saw Ella surrounded by those bullies when we had left the old house to save Angel. I thought you were being completely stupid, but it turned out to be the best decision you made," Fang looks away, "Because now they're your family."

There was something sad in his tone. Fang looks down at his hands, as if still regretting that I met Dr. Martinez and Ella.

And I knew why. He's afraid I'll leave them and go to Ella and Martinez like Iggy almost did with his parents. "Fang, you are my family, too. You and the whole flock, have always been my family." I say, putting my hand on his arm. "And I'm never, ever leaving." I add.

He looks up at me, and I expect a smile but don't get one, instead we both stand up and hug each other. Finally we both realize that neither one of us are leaving for the world, neither one is leaving the other for any reason.

I wanted this moment to last forever, me and Fang standing here, actually coming in contact, since that was so hard with his multiple personalities. I wanted time to just pause right here, and never move.

But unfortunately Gazzy and Iggy had to run over and yell, "Guys! Look, look!"

Fang and I broke apart and looked at Gazzy and Iggy pointing to a few hawks flying above us.

"Guess it's time for more flying lessons." Fang says, finally looking at me and I get that smile I wanted all along.

**LATER ON**

We decided to go up as threes, to practice our flying. Iggy, Gazzy, and Nudge were up right now. Fang, Angel, and I were down on our ledge.

As we watched as they followed the hawks, occasionally doing a trick or practicing something on their own, Fang and I sat next to each other on the ledge and Angel was studying Nudge.

We all gave Nudge a thumbs-up when she finally nailed something she's been working on since we started our trip. As she does a back flip to celebrate, I can't help but chuckle. _Gazzy's not the only crazy kid in the bunch_, I think.

_You enjoying the relaxation so far Max? I don't think it will last long._ The voice says.

Oh, no. No, not this time. I want to relax! I want to enjoy this!

_Max, I'm sorry, just stay on your guard. _The voice says.

I don't respond, I don't want to encourage this. I want to sit here, with Fang next to me safely, and the rest enjoying the air and freedom. If anything happened right now, one of us would have a nervous breakdown, and I knew it would be me.

Angel looks at me and I feel her gaze on me and look over. She read my thoughts and she fears something will happen as well.

_Angel, angel, don't worry, we'll be ok. Alright? _I try to say to her.

She keeps staring at me and nods and then goes back to watching the rest, and I can see her body tense.

We are going to run, we're going to run from anything that happens, and if anyone tries to stop me, they're really in for it.

I look at Fang but he already knows. "They're coming, aren't they?" Fang asks.

I nod slowly. "I don't want them to." I whisper.

"It's ok, Max; we can enjoy something like this somewhere else, some day." Fang says.

"When?" I whisper, swallowing back my fear.

He didn't have an answer. I look over to Angel but she's in the air, most likely warning the others.

I can hear her say, "Be prepared. Just in case, you know?" she says to Iggy.

_False alarm, Max, it's ok. Don't worry. The voice says._

_How can I believe anything you say? _I scream at the voice._ I don't want anything to happen to my family, why don't you understand that? If you know they're coming, why don't you do something about it? I don't want those damned Erasers anywhere near my family!_

The voice doesn't say anything, for once he doesn't respond to my breakdowns.

"Fang." I say.

"Yeah?" he asks, scanning the sky for anything different.

"Tell me it'll be ok." I say. I didn't need reassurance; I just needed to hear his voice. Even Maximum Ride, the all great and powerful, needed some help.

"Max, we're a team, we're always together, and if anything happens, we'll work our way through it." Fang says. And after a while, a long while, he adds, "It'll be ok."

I lean my head against his shoulder. He's shocked by the gesture, the all great and powerful was letting her guard down just to feel comforted. He doesn't respond to my gesture, but simply sighs happily. I feel safe where ever he is, because he's my family, without Fang…well, you know what I'm like without Fang.

Everyone here is my family, and if any of them left, I would be heart-broken.

_But Fang is different, _the voice says_. He's more than a brother, Max._

_Yeah, I know, he's not just my brother, he's my life._ I admit to the voice.

I've never admitted that I've felt like that toward anyone. I've never told anyone that there was a soft spot in me that could feel that way. I didn't even admit it to myself. But it felt good to tell someone, even if that someone is most likely the biggest jerk of all time and maybe my enemy.

_Max, I'm not you enemy, you know that. I'm here to help you._ The voice says.

Whatever, if that _thing_ was here to help me, it would stop Erasers from destroying me and my family, since apparently it knows when they're near.

I notice that Angel was back at her spot, playing with the dirt in front of her. She can get through anything, right? She's my little warrior and I know she's as tough as any of us. If anything happened to her, I know she can power through.

She looks at me as if she doesn't know whether or not to take it as a compliment or insult. I smile to tell her it's a good thing, and she smiles back.

And the hours pass by, and nothing happens. I stay seated with Fang, and he stays here as well, as I rest my head on his shoulder. Soon Iggy, Gazzy, and Nudge return, but none of us felt like going back up. So we find a deep, deep cave a few feet away from the ledge and camp out there, too tired to do anything else.

Fang and I sleep near each other. Iggy and Gazzy are further back, talking about explosives and the hawks. Nudge and Angel sleep near us, and soon everyone is asleep but me and Fang. We don't speak, we have nothing to say. All we do is examine the sky, not knowing if Erasers are watching us already, or if they're on their way. As long as they stay away from us, I don't care.

Nothing happens all night, and when we wake up in the morning, we continue our journey north-west.

And I realize something. The voice was right, nothing was coming, and nothing was attacking us.

And finally I felt safe in Canada.

**Yay, the end. Not a cliff hanger, again. But stick around for the next one. Review?**


	3. Chapter 3

**I know it's been a while, sorry! But here's the third chapter**

We were on our final stretch to our destination. I had decided not to be too picky about where we decide to "vacation", since apparently, according to Fang, I'm really crazy about that kind of stuff.

"We should pick a place by the beach!" Angel cheers.

"Um…" I say. _I'm surrounded by crazy kids_, I think to myself.

Fang shoots a glance at me that makes me shut up about my doubts for that idea. I mouth the word _sorry_ and say, "Alright, maybe a place near the coast would be alright." And I top it off with a smile.

"Whoo!" Gazzy yells.

_Well, Gazzy's natural crazy_.

_Hey max, guess who?_ The Voice says.

_Yeah, yeah, I know. Hey, Voice, guess what?_ I ask it.

_Yes, Max?_ The Voice says. Haha, he thinks I'm playing his game.

_Shut up,_ I say back.

I laugh a little out loud at my cleverness but quickly get back to focusing ahead.

_You won't want me to shut up when I tell you I listened to your advice,_ the Voice says.

I consider this for a minute, then say, _what advice?_

_When you said if I knew the Erasers were coming, why don't I do something about it? Well, I did._ The Voice says.

I don't know what to think. Was it telling the truth?

_Alright, we'll see_, I say.

Yeah, Mr. Clever, you think you're so great and I would get super hyped about that. Wrong!

I chuckle out loud again.

And Fang hears it. "What are you laughing about?" Fang asks.

He wasn't being serious, he was just curious.

I smile. "The Voice. It said 'hi', I said 'hey, guess what?', so it said 'what?', and I said shut up. I was all happy because I was clever, nothing new, I know. But then it tried to get back at me for it and it back-fired."

"How?" Fang asks, clearly very, very amused by my story.

I smile at his first ever interest in my stories about The Voice. "Earlier I yelled at it to do something if it knew the Erasers were coming, so it just told me he listened to my advice and did something about it. It expected me to be all happy about it and thankful, but I just said 'alright, we'll see'." After Fang's amused look goes away, I look down and murmur. "Well, I thought it was awesome…"

Fang snorts. "Nice, Max, but while you're messing around with your friend –"

"He's not my friend." I interrupt.

"Anyway! While you're playing around with your little buddy, I'm trying to think about where to land and where to go." Fang says.

"Right…um, sorry." I say.

_Wow, Fang, one moment of happiness taken away! Once again, nothing new…_I think to myself.

_Clever, Max, yeah, you really got me,_ The Voice says.

_Oh, just shut up already! I got enough crap from Fang, I don't need it from your sorry ass,_ I say.

Haha, I swore at the Voice. Today's a great day.

_Whatever, Max, just trying to make you smile for once, and not because of a trick you played on me, but because of something I said or something I did _for you_, _the Voice says.

And I suddenly felt sorry for what I said. Sorry for the trick I pulled and the attitude.

What was I thinking? I was creating drama with a _voice in my head!_ Something we don't know if it's because of the chip, or because I'm crazy, but I was making drama with it!

Maybe I am crazy with our without the Voice.

I smile. _Fang would have laughed if I said that out loud_, I think.

"Fang…" I say, and he looks at me. "Do you think I'm crazy?"

"Yes." Fang says.

I punch him in the shoulder.

"Ow! Hey, you wanted an answer!" Fang grins.

"Yeah, I wanted a serious answer, and if your serious answer is still yes, then at least elaborate!" I yell.

"Jeez, alright. Do I think you're crazy as a person? Yes. Do I think you're crazy as a leader or a fighter? No, of course not. Why do you ask?" Fang asks.

"What if I'm crazy without the Voice? Like, crazy in other ways." I ask.

"Max, you're not crazy. I know you're not. There have been _no_ signs that you are, other than the Voice." Fang says.

"What about when I saw myself as an Eraser in the mirror?" I ask.

_I got the Voice, and Fang, this is awesome!_ I think to myself.

Fang opens his mouth to answer but comes out with a sigh. "Max, you're not crazy. Don't you think it's kinda weird how all this connects to the Erasers? The Voice knows all about them, and you saw yourself as one of them in the mirror. It's just the scientists messing with your head."

"You're right. Yeah, it's just them." I say quietly. Then I look over to Fang, and instead of his normal expressionless face, he has eyes that are sad, eyes that are wondering if I really believe him. I smile to show him I do. And surprisingly he smiles back.

_Correction, today is an awesome day_.

_Today is a wonderful day, Max,_ the Voice says.

And the Voice got the smile it wanted.

**Really, really, really, really, **_**REALLY**_** boring, I know. It's not exactly what I made you all wait so long for, is it? Sorry! I just wanted to get another chapter done, so I kind of rushed, and my writing has been really off lately…**

**Anyway, my friend suggested some action, so next chapter will be worth what you waited for! Review?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Ok, here it is. The one you've been waiting for!**

**Chapter 4 in Where to Go**

We were on our final stretch to Canada; all the little ones were extremely excited.

"Max, Max, Max!" Angel yells. "What are we going to do when we get there? Can we go to Niagara Falls? Can we go to the beach?"

"Angel, Niagara is on the other side of Canada, we're on the Alaska side, babe." I say.

"Oh…what about the beach?" Angel says.

_I hate disappointing the kid. _"Way too cold to have beaches."

Angel nods once, as if to say "Oooohh! I get it now!"

I smile and look forward to Gazzy and Nudge in front of us.

"Hey, Ig!" I yell. He turns and flies back to where he heard my voice.

"Yeah?" Iggy asks.

"We're almost there, and when we get there, we need your help with hearing for…Erasers." I say.

"So listen for…barking, yelling, and idiocy?" Izzy grins and I catch Fang smile a little too.

"Yep, you got it." I laugh.

Iggy gives me thumbs up and flies a little to the right.

"You really don't want anything to happen, do you?" Fang suddenly asks.

I jump at his first talking since we took off.

"Uh…yeah, yeah, I do." I say, shaking out of my shock.

"You really want to just relax, don't you?" Fang asks.

"Yes, Fang, I want to just…not deal with these stupid Erasers for just a day, and even an hour." I say.

"Whoa, a little too far there. An hour?" Fang starts laughing sarcastically.

I punch his arm, a lot harder than I wanted to and he goes flying a little ways to the left.

"Jeez, just kidding!" Fang says.

"Sorry." I blush at my lash-out.

So, here's what you missed: me and Fang decided to find a cliff somewhere and have Iggy watch (or I guess just take care of) the little ones, while Fang and I look for a place to stay. Preferably an island.

"Max! We're here!" Gazzy yells.

I look ahead and realize he's right.

We could tell we were here because you could actually almost _see _the border from Canada to Alaska.

I smile and we fly down lower, looking for a cliff or big tree or anything to just stay in for a day or two while we plan things out.

"Max." Fang says. I look over to him pointing down, and I follow his gaze. "There."

He was pointing to at least five or six huge twenty foot high rocks.

I nod. "Hey, gang, toward those rocks!" I yell.

They all turn and following my pointing finger. We aim down and land gracefully on one rock.

"Perfect." I whisper.

Fang smiles at his cleverness of finding this spot and I catch it. Surprisingly I actually pat him on the back and he's shocked by my gesture.

I walk to the rest of the group standing around on the edge looking down at the ground.

They were all talking when I got there.

"How far down?" Nudge asks.

"Probably fifteen, twenty feet." Gazzy says.

Iggy nods.

"Alright gang, this is where we're staying." I clap my hands together and look around.

My eyes land on a rock taller than the rest and dented in to make a big enough cave for all of us.

I smile and usher the group over, hoping not to be caught by police or anything.

_You know who I haven't heard from today?_ I think to myself.

And sure enough. _Hey Max,_ the Voice says.

_Well…Mr. questions no answer. Off keeping the Erasers away from us?_ I ask.

_Yeah…about that…I didn't do a good a job as I thought…_ the Voice says.

I freeze as the rest of the group makes their way to the cave. My heart pounds and I almost drop to the floor.

I feel my eyes go wide as Fang puts a hand on my back. "Another headache?" he asks.

"No. No, no, no." I say quietly. "The Voice… it said…it didn't do a good a job he thought he did keeping the Erasers away." I look Fang in the eye as he gets wide eyed as well.

_What do you mean by that?_ I ask the Voice.

_Incoming, Max. Incoming,_ the Voice says.

Then I go into panic. Not because of the Voice, but because the Erasers we on their way.

Just then a knife comes through the air.

And it bounces off the rock.

And hits Nudge in the leg.

"NUDGE!" Gazzy yells.

I run over to her, despite that we were under attack.

"Nudge, nudge! Are you ok?" I ask.

Fang crouches down next to me and puts a hand on her leg wound.

The knife had fallen out, so it wasn't in very far. Maybe she was ok.

"Max, max, it hurts. It fell out but it still hurts." Nudge says.

"Sweetie, it's ok." I say, rolling up her pant leg.

There was a little mark, like a little scratch, it hardly looked like anything. It was bleeding like nuts but wasn't deep at all.

I turn around, letting Fang take care of Nudge, and look around for Erasers.

And there were three in the trees around us.

_Nice job. One favor, just one favor,_ I say to the Voice.

_I'm sorry, Max,_ it says.

_Too late for sorry-ies. Say goodbye to your little Erasers,_ I say.

_Ok,_ it says back.

And out of frickin' _nowhere_, I hear, "Goodbye, Erasers!"

I jump at the sound. Not just because it came out of nowhere and was extremely loud, but because it sounded exactly like the Voice in my head.

"Houston, we have a problem." I whisper and turn to Fang. "Fang."

He walks over. "I know, I see em'." He says.

He looks up at the Erasers and waves sweetly.

"Stop that!" I say, slapping his hands down.

One half-morphed Eraser lets out a howl and jumps down from the tree and onto a rock a few away from ours.

"Iggy!" I scream.

He runs over, "But I have to take care of –" he starts.

"No, you need to help us fight. I don't know if you 'heard' but there's two in the trees and on right there." I say.

"I know, I did 'hear'." He says.

I roll my eyes and the three of us prepare for fight.

The one on the ground – who has red hair, a little…thicker than the rest, and looks very strong – starts walking over.

"I'll take chubby." I say.

"I'll take boy-wonder." Fang says, looking up at a blond haired boy in the trees, smiling like a movie star.

"I'll take the one making an awful lot of noise." Iggy says, hopefully knowing which ones were which.

I run after the chubby one as Fang lashes out toward boy-wonder.

I head-butt him and take us both down to the ground, off the rocks, and fighting like wrestlers on the muddy grass.

I swing a punch and hit him in the mouth, and before he can recover, I'm hitting him over and over. "You – will – not – destroy – us –. We – want – a – break!" I say between punches.

When I'm finished he's bloody almost everywhere. I stand up and pick him up by his shirt and fling him across the grass.

He lies there, not moving.

And not breathing.

My job is done.

I look over to Fang, who thankfully has no scratches and same with Iggy.

Wait. Nudge!

I run up to Nudge and the others.

"Is she ok?" I ask Gazzy.

"I'm fine." Nudge says. "The pain has calmed down, and Gazzy got some water from the river."

I look over to river thirty feet away. "With _what_?" I ask.

"This." Gazzy says, holding up a half filled water bottle. "People litter." He shrugs apologetically.

Fang and Iggy return shortly, hardly breaking a sweat.

"You ok?" I ask them, putting a hand on Fang's arm.

"We're fine." Fang grins.

I smile and we all walk back to Nudge and take care of her.

I let out a deep breath. _Crazy…crazy…crazy,_ I think to myself.

**Better? Maybe a little? I know it's better than my last one. Let me know! Review?**


End file.
